Paul May

There's gold in these hills: 👉 Investments in retention can double as acquisition vehicles 👉 Customers do all of the selling to the prospects who join the events 👉 You can do no wrong by doing right by your customers Timeless lessons, Drew Neisser.

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Ignore the link-bait title, because this is a great article from Jason Lemkin characterizing what it’s like as a mid-sized or large SaaS companies right now, and some excellent advice on “what to do.”

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Yesterday, I ran a GTMsession for GTMfund portfolio company founders and their executive teams with the brand and content marketing legend, Udi Ledergor 🏳‍🌈. (🤔 GTM what now? GTMfund… GTMnow…) Yes, we have more words attached to the acronym GTM, though not widely talked about since they’re internal. GTMsessions are monthly private digital live sessions on various go-to-market topics, led by an executive operator who is an expert in the field. They’re available to GTMfund portfolio companies and their executive teams. Being closed-door and not open to the public, these sessions allow any and all questions to be comfortably asked, the conversation tailored to be hyper-specific to startups and their current concerns, questions, etc. We didn't even get through half of the moderated points that I had prepared because the questions for Udi just kept rolling in (a good thing, that's the point of these sessions). Udi dropped some 🔥 insights that we’ll share more on later, but for now, Stan Rymkiewicz nailed summarizing key takeaways on how Gong thinks about content creation and distribution that I've dropped in the comments. One key pain point discussed in the session was the challenge of keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of content marketing. It often feels like by the time one strategy is implemented, its effectiveness has already diminished. So, what’s next? How do you stay ahead of the curve? Since GTMsessions are private, their recordings aren’t shared openly. However, the feedback was so phenomenal that we knew other revenue leaders could benefit from the conversation. If you’re a revenue leader looking to understand the future of content marketing and stay ahead of the curve: Join me for a GTMnow digital live event with Udi Ledergor 🏳‍🌈 , Jon Miller, and Pete Lorenco. You'll learn from them how to stay two steps ahead and walk away with content tactics and inspiration. 🗓 June 18th at 10:00 AM PST / 1:00 PM EST 👉 To register: https://lnkd.in/gsdsai23 (pictured here: two passionate hand talkers 👋 )

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At most networking events… Business owners shake hands, exchange business cards, and go home. HumanX has a different approach. You’ll be paired together in 1:1 conversations with investors & AI startups. You’re not just adding people to your rolodex. Deals will be made.

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Perfecting your product and GTM strategy are surely important. But Box CEO and co-founder Aaron Levie argues there's one factor that outweighs all others in startup success: recognizing and capitalizing on tech and macro tailwinds. Fighting against them? You're setting yourself up for failure. Our full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gEAPFR-A

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🚀 Venture debt covenants might sound like a small part of the deal, but they carry huge implications for your startup’s future. 📈 You need to be strategic in your negotiations to avoid any pitfalls down the road. It’s all about setting yourself up for success, not stress. Dive into more details in the original Kruze Consulting post. The link is in the 1st comment. 👇

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My rough notes from 6sense conference this week (1000 revenue folks in Las Vegas ) as I head out - Great marketing is never a tools problem. It’s an alignment problem - 6sense now competes with every tech vendor there is. Their strategy seems to be to go broad and assimilate every rev function under one umbrella. They still partner with companies that go deep into these areas similar to Hubspot but their ecosystem play doesn’t seem as developed yet - To implement 6sense properly you definitely need agency help. Because it requires lots of internal alignment on GTM strategy and implementation takes time . See both points above - There’s no magic wand to hit pipeline numbers at a certain stage. No hacks. Just a lot of channels that have to work in synchronicity together. Common goals for the teams working together - Marketing teams are a lot more fearful than sales teams. Because their impact is always so hard to track. Even with the best attribution software some things can’t be measured - I still hate big conferences and plastic carpets. It feels artificial and performative. But I get why they work so will continue to sponsor some We did decide to organize our first user conference in March 2025 but making it much smaller (100 customers only ). No pitches. No booths. No stages. Just to let people connect and have a good time. So if you want to sponsor it please DM me Pardon the brevity of this message as it’s written in an Uber on the way to the airport

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What does your sales conversion rate look like at your accounting firm? 🤔 Too many firm leaders talk about "crushing it" and "doing great" but not enough data to really know how well you're stacking up. This is why I loved having Patrick Dichter come on the Jetpack Workflow "Growing Your Firm" podcast to talk about ACTUAL NUMBERS. Here's his data ... 10 discovery calls ⏩ 4 proposal call ⏩ 2 clients Early on, he realized he had a repeatable process and was able to double revenue within 12 months of acquiring his first firm. In the interview, we talked about his sales process, pricing, how he built more inbound acquisition (all his clients come from inbound) and much more. Take a look at the comments for the full interview 👇 #JetpackWorkflow #GrowingYourFirm #accounting #sales

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This guide by Michael Applebaum is one of the best product marketing guides that I've seen written. Concise and practical. Thanks to Stage 2 Capital as well. #ProductMarketing #PMM

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Are you a founder or CEO prepping for fundraising? Or a GTM pro who works for one? You’ll want to check out our new interactive fundraising deck and executive summary templates. While AssetMule was designed to help GTM teams better engage prospects with interactive sales assets, we’ve started to see an influx of founders signing up to build their fundraising assets. And it makes total sense. Just like buyers, investors are overwhelmed with the amount of pitches coming their way and are harder to reach than ever before. Founders need new ways to rise above the noise and earn their attention. And that’s exactly what AssetMule is designed to do. Not only will these templates help you pull your core fundraising assets together in a fraction of the time and with less effort, but they’ll help you engage investors in a more meaningful way and book more pitch meetings. Check out the demo below and sign up for AssetMule to get started for free.

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Last month we hosted a Happy Hour at INBOUND that 500+ people attended. Next week we’re sponsoring Pavilion's GTM 2024 in Austin. Here’s how Field Marketing teams can get execs to show up to an event (and convert): BACKGROUND: Most field marketing teams want executives to join their events But most executives HATE events Sales reps running around scanning badges, sessions they're not interested in, and endless email follow up after the event Great field marketing teams do 3 things instead: 1. Invite people that other executives would know Top execs follow each other and regularly check in with each other. They get recommendations from each other. And they are in small communities where they share events and new tech. You must tap into these IRL networks. If you can attract just a few of these key people then you can draw in the rest as well. Dave Gerhardt ran this playbook in the early days of Drift perfectly. 2. Give Special Gifts I went to G2’s VIP Dreamforce dinner a few weeks ago. And they gave a small leather bag full of items that you would love if you are traveling. Although I live 5 minutes away from Salesforce Tower, I still use some of the items daily. These small gestures go a long way ESPECIALLY if the items are used often. 3. Thoughtful Follow up Now, I know I said execs hate post-event follow up. But we also did $500K+ in bookings after our dinners and events with follow up. How? We did it thoughtful! No spray and pray. No automated email drips. We had meaningful conversations and followed up on them with messaging that tied back to exactly what we discussed. The response rates were insanely high! Field marketing is underrated. Under-invest at your own peril I am so bullish on small events. We're doubling down in 2025 P.S. If you are attending Pavilion’s GTM 2024 event, would love to meet. We will be at Booth 13 with mini golf and HockeyStack swag!

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⚡ Startups Carry More Risk Than We Know ⚡ At 21, I was the Western Regional Sales Manager for a bootstrapped software startup in Texas. We decided to showcase our product at the Comdex conference in Las Vegas, and the team quickly discovered I was the only one who could sell our software. My youth gave me the stamina to demo our product enthusiastically, but it came at a cost—I was on my feet all week and running on little sleep. After the expo, the CEO asked our more experienced Eastern Regional Sales Manager and me to drive his car back to Texas. We were to take turns behind the wheel and drive straight through to save money (did I mention we were in the middle of a recession?). As we crossed New Mexico in the darkest part of the night, it started to snow, and my companion was sleeping. Those hypnotic flakes looked magical as they landed softly on the car. I was exhausted and fell asleep at the wheel. As I was veering into the oncoming lane, I miraculously woke up. Was it a guardian angel tapping my shoulder? Maybe. Could we have both died that night? Absolutely, and I was furious with myself. That scare jolted me awake, and we stopped for coffee about 20 minutes later. I share this story because close calls are hardly unique for under-resourced companies with overworked employees. Many startup leaders and employees risk their health, finances, and their most-valued relationships. They run at maximum RPM, worry constantly, and often feel exhausted. So, if you work for an established company and are in contact with a young company, please be supportive. Keep your word, respect their time, and don’t ghost them. Most importantly, please pay them on time. Startups often lack the safety net that larger companies enjoy. The last year has been tough for many startups. Like the 'tap' on my shoulder that snowy night, your kindness can make a difference. Take care!

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We convinced 11 LinkedIn pros to share their personal outreach strategies. – and we’re giving it away for free. If you’re serious about growing your brand, booking more calls, or landing high-value clients, this eBook will be your new playbook. Here’s what you’ll learn: • Book more demo calls for your SaaS • Become a LinkedIn influencer • Get featured on top podcasts • Grow a Facebook community • $61k in revenue with hyper-personalization • Retrieve clients for your agency • And more… If you want to access these proven templates, 1. Follow me 2. Like this post 3. Comment ‘SEND’ (Only valid for a limited time)

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🚀 Partnerships have been super valuable throughout my career and are the backbone of many B2B companies. Last week instead of going fishing on my birthday week, I went to Austin for the ELG Con to learn and have some fun connecting with other business leaders. ELG stands for Ecosystem Lead Growth, which is all about alliances, partnerships, and channel sales. If you are interested, I’ll share top 10 challenges I heard, and then follow up with 17 steps for strategic partnerships at the end. A couple hundred people and I spent two days networking and learning from a bunch of business leaders from different industries. We were all interested in growing our businesses through partnerships, channels, and alliances. 🤝 It was a great time to make new friends, learn about new tools, share our experiences, and have some great conversations. We even heard about the latest and greatest in partnership enablement and the challenges that companies big and small are facing. There were some great speakers from Gong, Stripe Tim Tsao, Cloudera Steve Moroski, Drata Sydney Sloan, Typeset Kristen Habacht, Bob Moore and more. As someone with a lot of experience in building strategic sales, partnerships, and go-to-market strategies, I was excited to learn what is new in the partnership world. 🌟 The conference was organized by Crossbeam, a platform that helps companies share data to efficiently enable partnerships to collaborate. They put on a great event and did a good job of creating a welcoming and collaborative learning, networking, and community environment. It was great to connect with other business leaders and hear firsthand what's working and what's not. The location and ambiance was first class at the Austin Proper Hotel I highly recommend it. 🏨 #10 biggest challenging themes: 🔹 Partnership strategy 🔹 Partnership management practices and reporting 🔹 Partnership tech stack 🔹 Partnership activation and marketing plan best practices 🔹 De-Risking partnerships that represent significant company revenue 🔹 Activating Cloud Service Provider marketplace!! 🔹 Lack of budget and resources 🔹 Disconnected partnership KPIs from business objectives 🔹 No business objectives or performance standards 🔹 Unfamiliar with the breadth of partnership commercial models and options Common advice was about being selective and prioritize the strategic and engaged partners to go deeper versus wider. 🤔 It is easier said than done. I’m finalizing a ppt on strategy. If you would like a copy message me or leave a comment and I’ll send as soon as it is complete. 📊✨ Lastly it is always great to make new friends Jonathan Kingsepp Piyush Patel Robyn Fisher Michelle Billodeau, JD Gary Morris Jason Howie Vanesa Damiani Rob Rebholz Adam Jackson Bob Lamkin Shubhra Ganguly Melissa Sarver #Partnerships #B2B #ChannelSales #BusinessGrowth #Networking #Marketing #SalesStrategy #Austin #ELGCon #BusinessLeaders #GoToMarket #Collaboration #Learning #BusinessSuccess #marketplaces

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🚀 10 Lessons on Hiring a Great VP of Sales from Jason M. Lemkin 💡 Hiring the right VP of Sales can make or break your #SaaS business, especially when you’re scaling past $5M ARR. Here are 10 key lessons for SaaS founders looking to hire their first (or next) VP of Sales from Jason Lemkin’s #SaaStrAnnual talk. 1. Don’t Exit Sales Too Early The biggest mistake founders make is stepping away from sales too soon after hiring a VP. Even with a new hire, you must remain involved, helping close deals and mentoring your sales leader. 2. Avoid the 'Jaded, Broken or Done' Candidates Lemkin warned about hiring candidates who are jaded or have mentally “checked out.” You need someone who is still hungry and passionate about the hustle of sales, not someone looking for a cushy job. 3. Sales Leaders Must Know the Product One critical hiring mistake is bringing on a VP of Sales who doesn’t understand the product. If your VP can’t have deep conversations about your product with customers, you’re going to lose deals. 4. Founder-Led Sales Can’t Scale Even if you've been burned by a bad VP of Sales hire, don’t fall back into the trap of founder-led sales for too long. You need to keep pushing forward and find the right leader to scale. 5. Look for VPs Who Love Being in Deals When interviewing candidates, ask what they want to do in their first two weeks. If the answer isn’t “meeting customers and closing deals,” they might not be the right fit. 6. A Great VP is Also a Great Recruiter Your VP of Sales needs to be able to build a strong sales team. If they haven’t successfully hired and managed 2-3 top reps before, they’re probably not ready for the role. 7. Full-Stack Sales Leaders Are Rare Finding a VP who can do everything from outbound to closing is rare. Ensure they have experience in the key areas you need—whether it’s managing partnerships, direct sales, or outbound. 8. Be Careful with Process-Heavy Candidates Some VPs are great at managing processes but don’t want to sell. Don’t hire someone who’s more focused on building systems than getting in front of customers and closing deals. 9. Don’t Settle for Mediocre Hiring the wrong VP of Sales can set you back an entire year. It’s better to keep looking than to settle for someone who doesn’t fully align with your vision. 10. Trust Your Gut If you’re not 100% confident in your VP of Sales hire, keep searching. The right person will be someone you believe in fully—and they’ll have the ambition to drive your company’s growth. Hiring the right VP of Sales is one of the toughest decisions a SaaS founder will make, but it’s also one of the most important. #SaaStr #SalesLeadership #GoToMarket #BusinessGrowth #SaaStrAnnual24

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🚀 Big news: ServiceTitan, a SaaS leader in field service management, has officially filed its S-1 to go public! With $685M in LTM revenue and 24% YoY growth, it’s clear the company has carved out a significant niche in the market. However, their -$183M net loss and growth rate bring challenges. By SaaS standards, ServiceTitan falls short of the Rule of 40—a key metric combining revenue growth and profit margin to evaluate efficiency and scalability. Their score is -2.7, well below the ideal 40%. Excited to see how the market responds—your thoughts? Let's discuss! #IPO #SaaS #Growth #Startups #Tech

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Great framework here for sales people. Seven simple steps to follow in a structured manner. Start with listen and understand!

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To scale from $1M to $10M ARR, you need to turn your ad hoc GTM efforts into a well-oiled machine. This means creating repeatable processes across your entire GTM - from lead gen to sales to customer success. The good news for technical founders is that they're experts at solving complex engineering challenges with precision, efficiency, and structure. At this stage of startup growth, they need to apply that same systems-oriented mindset to GTM - which, for B2B startups, can be approached more as a science than an art. More in the May edition of B2BaCEO: https://lnkd.in/emsvFN9q

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